Based on the groundbreaking book by award-winning journalist and Democracy Now! Co-host Juan González, Harvest of Empire takes an unflinching look at the role that U.S. economic and military interests played in triggering an unprecedented wave of migration that is transforming our nation’s cultural and economic landscape.

From the wars for territorial expansion that gave the U.S. control of Puerto Rico, Cuba and more than half of Mexico, to the covert operations that imposed oppressive military regimes in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, Harvest of Empire unveils a moving human story that is largely unknown to the great majority of citizens in the U.S.

“Harvest of Empire has a journalistic pedigree and a punch that comes from political advocacy…The filmmakers retain a touching faith that most Americans won’t tolerate injustice when they know about it. This film is meant to teach them.” — Rachel Saltz, The New York Times

“For all the talk about immigration, rarely does the conversation veer into why so many Latinos have come to the United States. Harvest of Empire attempts to fill in the gaps, and the reasons don’t include some naive notion about streets being paved with gold.” — Stephanie Merry, The Washington Post